几年前的一个冬日，我乘坐宾夕法尼亚铁路公司的一班快车离开匹兹堡，向东行驶一小时，穿越了威斯特摩兰县的煤城和钢都。这是我熟悉的地方，无论是童年时期还是成年时期，我常常经过这一带。但以前我从来没有感到这地方荒凉得这么可怕。这儿正是工业化美国的心脏，是其最赚钱、最典型活动的中心，世界上最富裕、最伟大的国家的自豪和骄傲--然而这儿的景象却又丑陋得这样可怕，凄凉悲惨得这么令人无法忍受，以致人的抱负和壮志在这儿成了令人毛骨悚然的、令人沮丧的笑料。这儿的财富多得无法计算，简直都无法想象--也是在这儿，人们的居住条件又是如此之糟，连那些流浪街头的野猫也为之害羞。
我说的不仅仅是脏。钢铁城镇的脏是人们意料之中的事。我指的是所看到的房子没有一幢不是丑陋得令人难受，畸形古怪得让人作呕的。从东自由镇到格林斯堡，在这全长25英里的路上，从火车上看去，没有一幢房子不让人看了感到眼睛不舒服和难受。有的房子糟得吓人，而这些房子竞还是一些最重要的建筑--教堂、商店、仓库等等。人们惊愕地看着这些房子，就像是看见一个脸给子弹崩掉的人一样。有的留在记忆里，甚至回忆起来也是可怕的：珍尼特西面的一所样子稀奇古怪的小教堂，就像一扇老虎窗贴在一面光秃秃的、似有麻风散鳞的山坡上;参加过国外战争的退伍军人总部，设在珍尼特过去不远的另一个凄凉的小镇上。沿铁路线向东不远处的一座钢架，就像一个巨大的捕鼠器。但我回忆里出现的 三要还是一个总的印象--连绵不断的丑陋。从匹兹堡到格林斯 堡火车调车场，放眼望去，没有一幢像样的房子。没有一幢不是歪歪扭扭的，没有一幢不是破破烂烂的。
词汇(Vocabulary)
libido (n.) : psychic energy generally;specifically，a basic form of psychic energy，comprising the positive。loving instincts manifested variously at different stages of personality development欲望
lucrative (adj.) : producing wealth or profit;profitable;remunerative有利可图的;赚钱的
hideous (adj.) : horrible to see,hear,etc.;very ugly or revolting;dreadful骇人听闻的;非常丑陋的;可怕的 forlorn (adj.) : in pitiful condition;wretched;miserable可怜的;悲惨的;不幸的
macabre (adj.) : gruesome;grim and horrible;ghastly可怕的;令人毛骨悚然的;恐怖的
computation (n.) : the act of computing;calculation 计算
abominable (adj.) : nasty and disgusting;vile;loathsome讨厌的，可恶的
alley (n.) : a narrow street or walk;specifically，a lane behind a row of buildings or between two rows of buildings that face on adjacent streets胡同;小巷;小街
filth (n.) : disgustingly offensive dirt，garbage，etc.污秽，污物
;垃圾
allude (v.) : refer in a casual or indirect way(随便或间接)提到，涉及;暗指 monstrousness (n.) : strange shape奇形怪状
lacerate (v.) : tear jaggedly;mangle(something soft，as flesh);wound or hurt(one's feelings，etc.)deeply;distress撕裂;割碎(肉等软组织);伤害(感情等);使…伤心
pretentious (adj.) : making claims，explicit or implicit，to some distinction，importance，dignity，or excellence自负的;自命不凡的;自大的
linger (v.) : continue to stay，esp.through reluctance to leave逗留(尤指不愿离开)
downright (adv.) : thoroughly;utterly;really彻底地，完全地;真正地
dormer (n.) : a window set upright in a sloping roof屋顶窗
leprous (adj.) : of or like leprosy;having leprosy麻风的;似麻风的;患麻风病的 rat-trap (n.) : a trap for catching rats捕鼠夹(子)
misshapen (adj.) : badly shaped;deformed奇形怪状的;畸形的
uncomely (adj.) : having unpleasant appearance不美观的，不好看的
grime (n.) : dirt，esp.sooty dirt，rubbed into or covering a surface，as of the skin(尤指经摩擦而深入或覆盖皮肤等表面的)积垢;污秽
gully (n.) : a channel or hollow worn by running water; small，narrow ravine沟壑，狭沟，冲沟
chalet (n.) : a type of Swiss house，built of wood with balconies and overhanging eaves(瑞士的木造)农舍，山上小舍
highpitched (adj.) : steep in slope said of roofs)(屋顶)坡度陡的
dingy (adj.) : dirty-colored;not bright or clean;grimy不干净的;不明亮的;弄脏的 clapboard (n.) : a thin，narrow board with one edge thicker than the other，used as siding护墙板，隔板
preposterous (adj.) : so contrary to nature，reason， or common sense as to be laughable;absurd;ridiculous反常的;乖戾的;十分荒谬的;愚蠢的
pier (n.) : a heavy column，usually square. used to support weight，as at the end of an arch角柱;支柱
cemetery (n.) : a place for the burial of the dead;graveyard公墓，墓地;坟场 swinish (adj.) : of or like a swine;beastly;piggish;coarse，etc.猪(似)的;鄙贱的;粗俗的
perpendicular (adj.) : exactly upright;vertical. straight up or down垂直的;矗立的
precarious (adj.) : uncertain;insecure;risky不稳定的;不安全的;危险的 eczematous (adj.) : of itching skin disease湿疹的
patina (n.) : a fine crust or film on bronze or https://www.doczj.com/doc/d818471700.html,ually green or greenish-blue，formed by natural oxidation and often valued as being ornamental(青铜器上的)绿锈
uremia (n.) : a toxic condition caused by the presence in the blood of waste produts normally eliminated in the urine and resulting from a failure of the kidneys to secrete urine尿毒症
loathsome (adj.) : causing loathing;disgusting;abhorrent;detestable讨厌的;厌恶的;令人作呕的
laborious (adj.) : involving much hard work;difficult. industrious;hard-working费力的;困难的;勤劳的;辛苦的
incessant (adj.) : never ceasing;continuing
or being repeated without stopping or in a way that seems endless：constant不停的，连续的;不间断的
decompose (v.) : break up or separate into basic components or parts;rot分解;(使)腐烂，(使)腐败
forsake (v.) : give up;renounce(a habit，idea，etc.);leave;abandon抛弃，放弃(思想、习惯等);遗弃;背弃 malarious (adj.) : of fever conveyed by mosquitoes疟疾的;空气污浊的
hamlet (n.) : a very small village小村庄 incomparable (adj.) : no beyond comparison;unequalled;matchless无与伦比的，举世无双的;无敌的，无比的
titanic (adj.) : of great size，strength，or power巨大的;力大无比的;有极大权力的
aberrant (adj.) : turning away from what is right，true，etc.：deviating from what is normal or typical与正确或真实情况相背的;偏离常规的;反常的 uncompromising (adj.) : not compromising or yielding;firm;inflexiable;determined不妥协的;坚定的;不让步的;坚决的
inimical (adj.) : 1ike an enemy;hostile;unfriendly;adverse;unfavorable敌人似的;敌对的;不友好的;相反的;不利的
ingenuity (n.) : cleverness，originality，skill，etc.机智;创造力，独创性;熟练 grotesquery (n.) : the quality or state of being grotesque奇形怪状;怪诞 retrospect (n.) : a looking back on or thinking about things past;contemplation or survey of the past回顾，回想;追溯
diabolical (adj.) : of the devil or devils;fiendish恶魔的;残忍的，凶暴的 concoct (v.) : devise，invent，or plan计划，策划;虚构，编造
insensate (adj.) : not feeling，or not capable of feeling，sensation无感觉的，无知觉的
brute (n.) : an animal;a person who is brutal or very stupid，gross，sensual，etc.畜生;笨蛋，粗野的人
abomination (adj.) : great hatred，and disgust;anything hateful and disgusting憎恨，厌恶;令人讨厌的东西
putrid (adj.) : decomposing;rotten and foul-smelling腐烂的，腐败的
deface (v.) : spoil the appearance of;disfigure;mar损坏…的外表;丑化 inadvertence (n.) : the quality of being inadvertent;oversight;mistake掉以轻心，粗心大意;疏漏;错误
obscene (adj.) : offensive to one's feelings，or to prevailing notions，of modesty of decency;lewd;disgusting猥亵的;诲淫的;可憎的
unfathomable (adj.) : which cannot be understood;which cannot be reached不可理解的;深不可测的
enigmatical (adj.) : of or like an enigma;perplexing;baffling谜一般的，谜似的;不可思议的，费解的
dogmatic (adj.) : of or like dogma;doctrinal教条(主义)的;教义的
edifice (n.) : a building，esp.a large，imposing one建筑物;尤指大型建筑物，大厦
depravity (n.) : a depraved condition;corruption;wickedness堕落，腐化，腐败 penthouse (n.) : a small structure，esp.one with a sloping roof，attached to a larger building小棚屋，(尤指靠在大楼边上搭的)披屋
lust (n.) : a desire to gratify the senses;bodily a
ppetite欲望;贪欲
etiology (n.) : the assignment of a cause，or the cause assignment本源，原因(的说明)
pathological (adj.) : of pathology;of or concerned with diseases病理学的;病理上的 短语 (Expressions)
border upon : to be like;almost be相近，类似 例： His emotion is bordering upon hysteria.他的情绪接近歇斯底里。
put down…to : be attribute to归因于 例： I put Jane's moodiness down to the stress she was under.我认为简由于所承受的压力而闷闷不乐。
句子翻译：
1. 上海世博会的文化多样性是世界上有史以来最为丰富的。（ even seen on earth） The cultural diversity of Shanghai Expo is the richest ever seen in the world. 2. 那个地区的贫困状况几乎是无法想象的。（beyond imagination）
The poverty of that area is beyond imagination.
3. 不要问他父亲在车祸中丧生的事，这事提都别提。（allude to）
Don’t ask him about his father’s death in the car accident; don’t even allude to it.
4. 在这片荒原上连棵大树也看不到。（in sight）
There is not a single tree in sight on the vast expanses of wilderness.
5. 尽管遭受了特大自然灾害，灾区的人民依然相信爱、相信未来。（despite）
Despite severe natural disasters, people in the stricken areas still believe in love and the future.
6. 总的来说，你的报告写得很好。但还有很大的改进余地。（plenty）
Your report is well-written on the whole, but there is still plenty of room for improvement.
7. 我决定不买汽车，在城市里我更喜欢骑自行车。（prefer）
I’ve decided not to buy a car since I prefer to ride a bike in the city.
8. 不少儿童对网络游戏的爱好近于痴狂。（border upon）
Many children’s love for Internet games borders upon craziness.